Deutsche Edelstahlwerke (DEW), the company that encompasses the Germany-based mills of Swiss Steel group, will be split up into two separate companies, executives of the parent group said during a conference call on Thursday.
DEW consists of four mills: in Hagen, Witten, Siegen and Krefeld. It is the biggest unit within the Swiss Steel group. According to a spokesman, the Hagen and Witten mills will be spun off into one company, while Siegen and Krefeld will form the other.
The line of separation will consider differences in the mills’ process routes, which basically all operate electric arc furnaces. The respective organisations will be slimmed, “and not any more distracted by tasks that are common for big entities”, making production more efficient, the spokesman tells Kallanish.
The restructuring also involves a cutback in staff, with at least 350 jobs to be axed across DEW, at mills on either side of the separation. “The critical assessment of the future viability and potential of each of our entities has become more decisive given the current market conditions,” Swiss Steel chief executive Frank Koch said during the call.
The restructuring, furthermore, involves the planned divestment of several entities in Eastern Europe that no longer reflect Swiss Steel’s core business. In February, it announced the sale of companies in Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia to Jacquet Metals.
Christian Koehl Germany
